Rien Heald has been leading Internet product development for more than 10 years in the travel, financial services, and media/marketing sectors. A naturally curious and creative type, it is only normal for him to co-found HowToOpenThings to help the world know better how to open……anything.

WindyBits talked to Rien Heald to get the lowdown on HowToOpenThings… and to sponsor our own contest! (see below)

1. In a nutshell, what’s the purpose of HowToOpenThings?

   The concise description of HowToOpenThings is it’s a combination of eBay and YouTube. That would be auctions (or contests) and videos. At HowToOpenThings, people create contests to get videos made that demonstrate how to open something. These contests can be anything from banal to bizarre. One of my favorites is “how to open a car door with maximum damage.” We could see some very interesting videos for a contest like that. After the contests are created, members produce the videos to try to win the contests. And the contest judges determine the winner.

   We created a screencast to help explain how HowToOpenThings works. You can view it at http://www.howtoopenthings.com/info.

   HowToOpenThings is for informational purposes as well. For example, we have contests that are seeking videos to demonstrate how to open a clogged bathtub drain or how to open an IRA. Not as humorous as “how to open a conversation about bad hairstyles with Donald Trump,” but useful nonetheless.

   The type of things found on HowToOpenThings is limited only by the imagination of our members. And I’m sure that’s going to result in some amazing videos.

2. How’d you get the idea for the site? Why not ask folks to close things?

   The idea came to me as an epiphany. Not as spectacular as Einstien’s theory of relativity, but mine is more useful for the average person on the street.

   I was sitting at the train station one day watching a couple try to open a package of mints. The man struggled with it for a bit, then his girlfriend tried, then he tried. Back and forth for quite a few minutes. I thought somebody should create a website that shows how to open things. Thus, HowToOpenThings was born.

   We thought it made sense to give people a bit of guidance as they create contests to get videos produced. With the technology that drives HowToOpenThings, we could quickly create a sister site for closing things. Or any completely wide open video/contest site.

3. Creating an effective video for the web is much different than creating one for TV or the big screen. What are some keys to producing a great web video?

   If you know how to do it and can afford it, high production quality is great, but overall, make sure your message is clearly conveyed. As long as the sound, lighting, camera work, etc. don’t detract from what you’re trying to get across, a wide variety of production levels can work on the web. A common theme is keeping videos short and focused. The form factor of the web combined with our shorter attention spans when surfing don’t lend themselves to long expositions.

4. How do you think YouTube, Google Video, and similar sites have changed the way people express themselves online?

   Creative writing is a difficult form and much can get lost in the translation from my mind, to the page, to your mind. Prior to making video creation and posting “stupid simple,” people were limited to prose or still pictures to express themselves online. With video, the author’s intent is more easily retained and conveyed. Combine this ease of creation with the fact that most people are more interested in visual information than written information and you end up with a wider variety of online expressions. That is both a bane and a boom as has been demonstrated in recent years.

5. HowToOpenThings is one of a growing number of sites that aggregate existing video from YouTube and similar sites and add some value or organization to these videos. What are some other sites in this vein that you’re fond of?

   HowToOpenThings is different than simply a video aggregation site. We’re not just gathering videos that already exist. We’re incenting people to create original content.

   While we use YouTube and Google as video hosts, the members of HowToOpenThings are the creative source for the videos. Our platform enables people who want to see a “how to open” demonstration to create a contest to get these videos created. For example, one member may have an idea for a funny “how to open” demonstration (how to open up to a wrestler), but he doesn’t have the creative or video skills to make the video. HowToOpenThings provides the forum for him to get a video made that satisfies his expectations.

   In fact, HowToOpenThings allows members to join together to get a video made. The more people who join in by voting for a contest, the higher the money associated with that contest becomes. So while any particular member may not need to give very much to the contest, the aggregated contributions result in a prize worth winning, and that drives better videos.

6. What are your long term goals for HowToOpenThings?

   The ultimate goal for HowToOpenThings is to prove its underlying technology, which is the Collaborative Auction™. The Collaborative Auction™ provides a way for a subset of a community to aggregate its resources to accomplish something that benefits the community as a whole. At HowToOpenThings, its purpose is to create videos to demonstrate how to open something. How to open anything you can think of.

   In a broader context, the Collaborative Auction™ could be used at Second Life to initiate community buildings or gathering places; open source projects could use it to fund user driven development features; advertisers could use it in a brand awareness campaign; fan flicks sites to create fan driven movies; or many other mega-niche sites that have a passionate audience.

   I want to see the Collaborative Auction™ used in lots of different contexts online and offline even. It’s a great platform to monetize user generated content and drive creativity.

WindyBits is sponsoring a contest on HowToOpenThings. Our challenge to you: “How to open a conversation at a Chicago tech event with a joke?” Create a video using your digital camera, phone, or webcam; upload it to YouTube; and submit it to HowToOpenThings. The winner gets money! You know, real money! If you want to judge, you can also buy votes and influence the winner. Here’s your opportunity to poke fun at Chicago tech. Now get to it!

This entry was posted on Friday, April 27th, 2007 at 11:35 am and is filed under Articles. Both comments and pings are currently closed.